Oct 19th, 2009
Taraloka Sustainable Energy Project
Kulaprabha writes:
Earlier this year, I was at a Taraloka trustee’s meeting where we were being asked to approve replacing our old
Earth and the Moon from Mariner 10
oil-fired boilers with new ones. One boiler heats the retreat centre and one heats the community. They do need replaced - and we’d certainly use less oil by installing new more efficient boilers.
But I wasn’t too happy going ahead with this proposal because it seemed to me that we were looking at our energy usage in a rather piece-meal way and without a long enough perspective. In particular if we installed new oil fired boilers then we’d be tied into oil for quite a long time. A couple of years ago Saddhanandi, our chairwoman, instigated a fund-raising appeal to help us install solar thermal systems in the retreat centre. But was it really a good idea to go ahead with that - assuming we could get help with the installation costs - and at the same time renew oil-fired boilers? I didn’t think it was. So I suggested to the other trustees that we postpone things and that I try to get a better perspective on our options.
Lots of questions leapt up asking to be answered:
What kind of sustainable energy is best for us … biomass? ground source? Are they really as reliable as a dependable oil fired boiler? Is it worth it financially to include solar thermal when hot water makes up only about 15% of our heating costs? etc etc… Some of my questions have fairly straightforward factual answers. But some of my hesitation was more about feeling uncertainty, insecurity even, in contemplating such a big move away from what’s normal and tried and tested…. ie from burning fossil fuels. What if it all goes wrong and doesn’t work and we don’t have any hot water and hot radiators? But then it is all going wrong isn’t it? The planet, that is, as opposed to our central heating system.
an inconvenient truth
Six months later, I am considerably better informed about biomass boilers and solar thermal panels and cylinders. The cost of moving over to biomass is considerable and I’ve found out quite a lot about available grants. There are various sources of funding for this sort of project but I’m not sure yet which of them we are eligible for : Low Carbon Building Program (LCBP) Phase 2; Welsh Forestry Commission WEBS scheme; Community Sustainable Energy Project (CSEP); the Carbon Trust.
It’s been a bit of a steep learning curve but in the course of enquiring into all this I’ve met some very interesting people, all enthusiastic and happy to pass on their expertise and experience. They include Matthew Goodwin of EcoEnergi; Robert Saunders of re:Think Energy, Shrewsbury; Andy and Jan at Organic Energy, Welshpool; the team at Carbon Hub for making their carbon footprint software available; and a very helpful lady at the LCBP Office who answered all my queries !!
So now …… I’ve got various quotes; haggled a bit over them; decided on which installer to work with …. and am about to fill in the LCBP application form. This is crucial to us. If we get the 50% installation grant then the project goes ahead. If not then I’m afraid we’re looking at oil-fired boilers again.
Will keep you posted…
Hi Kulaprabha! I loved reading about your forays into sustainable energy sources - thanks for blogging about it. What’s being done at Taraloka with regard to insulation? Energy supply is only one side of the deal - there’s lots that can be done in energy conservation too, in fact in some cases possibly more can be done by using the energy supply more effectively than by changing the supply. Doing both supply and conservation is obviously the bestest of the best routes though.
Fantastic! Sadhu to you, Kulaprabha! You are a ground-breaker. Thank you for taking this on and sharing your findings. I’ll eagerly await the outcome, thinking about it for our future as well, i.e. the Birmingham Buddhist Centre’s - not to mention the planet’s!
Hi Taraloka Team
I personally am delighted that you have been looking into a more sustainable energy plan. The other side to this equation, of course you know, is cutting down on heating loss has there been a general energy audit of Taraloka?
I just wanted to say well done and I look forward to hearing how it all progresses.
Metta
Cate
Hi
Thanks for your encouragement!!
Yes, I’ve had an energy assessment done for Taraloka. We come out of it quite well regarding insulation as all our windows (bar one) are double glazed and our attics are insulated. But Ginny has just got a quote for upping the depth of attic insulation to 250mm. Probably going to be using something called Warmcel. The other thing we’re doing is changing from open fires in the retreat centre and the community to high efficiency wood burning stoves. They’ll be in place in December. It’s meant having the retreat centre lounge fireplace altered so that the air flow round the stove is better. These stoves are so good that they’ve been OK-ed for use in urban smoke-free zones!
If we get the biomass and solar thermal done then we move from Grade D/E to Grade A from point of view of energy efficiency. I’ll be putting more up on the blog. I’ve got data about our carbon footprint from the Carbon Hub software I mentioned on the blog.
Kulaprabha
It’s so good to see that you’re taking this seriously despite all the difficulties you’re encountering. Thank you Kulaprabha - you’re an inspiration.
thank you so much for a fantastic memo on a really important issue.
I wish the community well in their grant application process, towards securing more sustainable systems of heating and electricity.
I live in Alberta (think tarsands…….), and my provincial government is giving 2 BILLION dollars to the coal and oil/gas companies to develop carbon capture and sequestration - - so that we don’t move away from our dependence on these fuel sources, nor the big companies that run them and make gazillions of dollars in the process.
I am big on energy these months, and really support Taraloka in this super important undertaking.
peace and best wishes,
sally
Well done for stopping and being so mindful about the move to the new boiler.
My partner and I installed an Okofen wood pellet boiler from Organic Energy in our garage about a year ago, to warm our new underfloor heating and radiators (in the house - not the garage!). It was expensive but the solar panels have given us virtually carbon free hot water all summer and the boiler keeps the house nice and warm in colder weather. Apart from the carbon savings it is also cheaper to run than oil and likely to get even less expensive as time goes on. We can also use the ash on our garden.
The only downside really is that the boiler can be quite complicated to set and it has taken me some time to get my head around heat curves etc. This is partly because of the underfloor heating which complicates things because it is so slow to react. If you have radiators it will be much simpler and the installer should be able to set it up more or less right at the start.
Don’t let this put you off though. The boiler seems very reliable indeed and the smell from the chimney is woderful! If you can get the grants it is a very worthwhile and beautiful thing to do. We all need to do whatever we can.
Best wishes with the project
Jenny
Just wanted to say that I’m delighted that you are doing all this, supported by Taraloka. Exemplification indeed, and very necessary!
I have added the grant-makers to my metta practice, supporting them in wise decison making. A grant to Taraloka could have far reaching (and as yet unknown) concequences, as its influence reaches round the world and into the future.